This town is his cause burying my neck
This air it takes off, without rushing, without haste

The streets are in distress,
The sun suffocates behind darkened skies
The grass is growing under my feet
I'm thinking it wont be long before you get

The line-up seems endless,
Underneath the salvation sign
We are the dead ones, we are the lost cause
We are the people who will not blame ourselves from this cause

The city, the city is haunted,
By ghosts (ghosts) from broken homes (homes)
Because this city, this city is haunted
There's no hope (hope) left for these souls (souls)

Every step I take,
I leave a small piece of myself behind
Soon there will be nothing left

The cracks in the pavement,
Match the cracks in their weathered skin,
The skies a brick wall, the clouds a juggernaut
Each day as we know
I stare in amazement, I can't believe this is where I live
Every breath I take, I feel my lungs fail

The city, the city is haunted,
By ghosts (ghosts) from broken homes (homes)
Because this city, this city is haunted
There's no hope (hope) left for these souls (souls)

75 Comments

This town has its claws buried in my neck
This town, it takes life without mercy, without hate

The streets are in distress
The sun suffocates behind darkened skies
The grass is growing under my feet
I'm thinking it won't be long before I'm too deep to run

The lineup seems endless
Underneath the salvation sign
We are the dead ones, we are the lost cause
We are the bend before the break, our steps seal fate

Because this city, this city is haunted
By ghosts (ghosts) from broken homes (homes)
Because this city, this city is haunted
There's no hope (hope) left for these souls (souls)

Every step I take, I leave a small piece of myself behind
Soon there will be nothing left

The cracks in the pavement
Match the cracks in their weathered skin
The sky's a brick wall, the ground's a juggernaut
Each day they get a bit closer, between them, I am caught
I stare in amazement
I can't believe this is where I live

Every breath I take, I feel my lungs seal
This breeze feels more like shards of glass
I'm more scars than skin

Because this city, this city is haunted
By ghosts (ghosts) from broken homes (homes)
Because this city, this city is haunted
There's no hope (hope) left for these souls (souls)

Our steps seal fate
Our steps seal fate

This is our celebration, come join the lost souls
This is our celebration, come join the lost souls.

This city, this city is haunted.
Come walk with us all
Come walk with us.

This city, this city is haunted
By ghosts (ghosts) from broken homes (homes)
Because this city, this city is haunted,
There's no hope (hope) left for these souls (souls)

General CommentMiserablef, what the fuck are you talking about? This song has an abundant meaning, and unless AOF or the KINGS of cryptic metaphor, it has NOTHING to do with God, Lucifer, Christ, Christianity, Heaven, Salvation, Messiah etc.

General CommentIm pretty sure the song is about Toronto's homeless problem. Alexisonfire formed in St. Catharines, and you dont live in Ontario without spending some time in Toronto. Theres a big homeless problem...I walk past about a dozen homeless people just to get to the nearest coffee shop, and im right in the middle of the city. The city is very impersonal, fast paced, and walking by these starving people everyday, trying to ignore them as they ask for money to buy food, is heartbreaking and ultimately disallusioning. I can see how it could feel like your leaving a part of yourself behind every time you refuse to help one of them (your soul specifiically). Sadly there are just too many to help, so many that you eventually close yourself off and try to ignore them...they may as well be invisible (ghosts) for all the attention that people pay to them. Im sure there are worse cities state-side, but coming from anywhere else in Canada to TO is such a massive shock, especially since weve been told that homelessness of this scale doesent exist in Canada (yea right).

My InterpretationAt first I was kind of skeptical, but I think CaptainZaltan is on the right track.

I think this song has to do with some homelessness/poverty issues in a major city, and the singer's dismay at living in this poverty-stricken place.

>This town, it takes life without mercy, without hate.
Refers to people dying of the cold and hunger, or just the harsh life on the street. The death that takes them is without mercy, but it's also without malice. There's no murder involved, just the cold, ruthless, uncaring death on the street.

>The cracks in the pavement match the cracks in their weathered skin
Refers to people who are so accustomed to living outside that their skins are weathered and cracked.

>The streets are in distress
Refers to the fact that the streets are filled with suffering

>The lineup seems endless, underneath the salvation sign.
I imagine that this refers to a line of people waiting for food or shelter at a religious charity. The line of people is so long that "the lineup seems endless", and they're standing underneath a large cross that adorns the charity building.

>This city is haunted by ghosts from broken homes ... there's no hope left for these souls
This is a metaphor for the starving, freezing people in the city. They're referred to as "ghosts", because they're seen as nameless, faceless shapes rather than actual human beings. And there's no hope for them because they feel hopeless.

All the rest of the lines are about the singer's shame and amazement at what he's seeing in this city, but that he's unable to leave.

>This town has its claws buried in my neck
This is a metaphor for being stuck somewhere. He can't run away because its claws are buried in his neck.

>The grass is growing under my feet, I'm thinking it won't be long before I'm too deep to run
Another metaphor. He's saying that the grass is growing all around him and pretty soon he's going to be too deep in it to be able to untangle himself.

>The sky's a brick wall, the ground's a juggernaut... between them I am caught.
Again, saying he's stuck here.

>I stare in amazement, I can't believe this is where I live.
Self-explanatory. He's amazed at all the suffering around him.

I think by the end of the song, he sort of accepts that this city is a part of who he is and invites the listener to "come join the lost souls" and "come walk with us".

This song is insanely amazing. I love everything about it. And dallas's vocals are what really stick out to me...

To me the meaning of this song is different. For some reason i just feel like its a town or city that has gone to shit. And is in to deep to come out of it. And it just sucks people into a place they don't wanna be... thats just what i think though...

Both Dallas and George (and even Wade) seemed to have improved their vocals (which on Dallas' part especially is a fucking good achievment). I love the bit where Dallas goes "I cant beLIEVE THIS IS WHERE I LIVE!". Fucking excellent.

This song just reminds me of walking round my hometown with my friends (mostly in winter...this songs talking about a fairly dull and shitty city, and my city looks better in summer, lol)...just sort of walking about without a purpose....just killing some time together.

The song just does a great job of generating a sense of hopelessness and despair within a broken city. Its just so fucking awesome. I listened to this song on repeat for about 3 hours the night I got it (no exageration), and i still listen to it a lot now, lol.

General Commentjust listened to it for the first time
fucking immense
i agree that it's haunting
especially dallas' parts
and now i proper can't wait for crisis
3 hours of continuous play here i come
=]